A. Field
The present invention relates to a method for processing sheet material, in particular papers of value such as bank notes, checks, etc., by which different groups of sheet material are processed one after the other.
B. Related Art
In known methods for processing papers of value (hereinafter “sheet material”, bank note processing machines are used for processing different groups of such sheet material one after the other. The different groups of sheet material are constituted by different groups of bank notes, which in turn correspond to different deposits or deliveries, as result for example in the accounting for different customers of a bank. The different groups of bank notes can also come from a single customer of the bank, for example a department store. The different groups of bank notes are then for example the daily receipts of different cash registers. During processing, the bank notes are normally checked for authenticity, the value of the bank notes is determined, each group of bank notes constituting an accounting unit for which the total value of the bank notes is determined. The individual bank notes are furthermore sorted and stacked, the criterion used being for example the value of the bank notes. For processing the groups of bank notes or accounting units, two methods have become known.
In the first known method, an operator opens for each group of bank notes an accounting unit to which the particular group of bank notes is assigned during processing with the bank note processing machine. Then the bank notes are inserted by the operator into the bank note processing machine and processing is effected. Bank notes that could not be correctly recognized during processing, for example because they were recognized as forgeries or suspected forgeries or because a disturbance occurred during processing in the bank note processing machine, are stacked in a special output unit. These bank notes must be reprocessed, either by another processing operation in the bank note processing machine or by the operator. Then the accounting unit is closed by the operator and the processing of a further accounting unit can be effected, as described above.
It has turned out to be a disadvantage of the known method that the operator must perform a plurality of operating steps on the bank note processing machine for each of the accounting units. He must make many inputs by means of an input unit, for example a keyboard. This results altogether in a high time requirement for accounting for the different groups of bank notes. Moreover, there is high proneness to error in operating the bank note processing machine since the given operating steps must be precisely adhered to and the monotonous, constantly repeating sequence of operating steps for processing each accounting unit leads to lack of concentration and symptoms of fatigue in the operator.
In the second known method, the different groups of bank notes are subdivided by separation cards before processing with the bank note processing machine. Each separation card is assigned an accounting unit in the bank note processing machine by the operator. Then a stack consisting of a plurality of groups of bank notes separated by separation cards is processed automatically and continuously by the processing machine. Processing of bank notes is effected analogously as described above for the first method. Additionally, the bank note processing machine heeds the separation cards during processing. On the one hand, the bank note processing machine recognizes the end or beginning of an accounting unit. On the other hand, the operator's assignment of separation cards to certain accounting units permits the machine to credit the accounting unit with the data determined for the associated group of bank notes.
The second known method has advantages over the first known method with respect to the time required for accounting for the different groups of bank notes but, on the one hand, it involves the problem that separation of the different groups of bank notes by the operator by means of separation cards is error-prone. On the other hand, in case of a disturbance in the bank note processing machine, e.g. a jam or overlap of bank notes, it is virtually impossible to associate all bank notes of a group of bank notes with the correct accounting unit or the accordingly assigned separation card. It is therefore no longer possible to correctly account for the different groups of bank notes and assign them to the particular deliverer.